Microsoft To Release Windows XP Service Pack

Sometime in August we expect that Microsoft will release a long awaited service pack for Windows XP.  Service Pack 2 will include many security updates and unfortunately is expected to cause some problems.  The built in Windows Firewall will be turned on by default, and while firewalls are generally good things, it is expected that some users will have problems with some applications, although nothing that should be disasterous.
 
We have been running the early releases of Sevice Pack 2 for several months and find it pretty stable.  We suggest that if you are planning to install the update yourself you test it on non-production devices before you roll it out.  Clients on our Maintenance Plan will have the update installed by us during the following maintence cycle after the product is released.

FTC Won't Create "Do Not Spam" List

For several months the FTC has been under pressure to create an E-mail "Do Not Spam" list similar to the "Do Not Call" list created for marketing phone calls. The FTC has decided that such a list will not work and may in fact be counterproductive to the issue.

I agree 100%. Spammers are not easily tracked down. They change names, ISPs, computers, etc. They will not think twice about ignoring the list. In fact my bet would be within 48 hours of the creation of such a list some hacker will have the list available for purchase. The Internet is not the phone system (yet), the same tools do not apply. Although not perfect, I think the sender identification methods currently being tested by major Internet players will be a much better solution to this problem.

Think Your DSL/Cable Internet Is Fast?

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology have successfully transferred data across Internet2 (the next generation Internet) at speeds of 6.25 Gigabits per second. This is roughly 10,000 times faster than a typical broadband connection!

Imagine what can be done with data transfer at that speed! Moving voice and data around would not even scratch the surface of the bandwidth available. Live video over the Internet will be a reality. Where does it end? Who knows, but tests are being planned for Terabit speeds. For the green horns among us, a gigabit is 1 billion bits per second and a terabit is 1 trillion bits per second.

Just imagine the Spam at those speeds!

New Microsoft Support Policy Does Not Include NT 4.0

Windows NT 4.0 is not covered under the new extended support policy announced by Microsoft. Support for NT 4.0 will cease at the end of this year. Still running NT 4.0 on your servers? Time to move forward!

Microsoft Extending Product Support - Again

Yesterday Microsoft announced that it is extending mainstream support of its current and future products by at least an additional 2 years. This means that products will be supported for at least 10 years from the time they are released. The reason for the change is to insure that businesses have plenty of time to plan migrations to new products. Of course for some companies even 10 years might not be enough!

The policy change means that a business or developer product (not personal or hardware) will be covered under mainstream support for 5 years from its release date or 2 years after the release of its replacement, whichever is longer.

This is good news at a time where security updates are critical to keeping business networks safe. Microsoft should be commended for listening and acting upon customer concerns.